Sofa or lounge



' (No Model.)

s. 0. BAUCUM xv A. T. BALL.

SOFA 0R LOUNGE. No. 569,163.

Patented Oct. 1 3, 1896;

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. e

SAMUEL C. BAUOUM AND AARON T. BALL, OF WACO, TEXAS.

SOFA OR LOUNGE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 569,163, dated October13, 1896.

Application filed April 18, 1896- Serial No. 588,115. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, SAMUEL O. BAUCUM and AARON T. BALL, citizens of theUnited States, residing at Waco, in the county of McLennan and State ofTexas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sofas orLounges; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same;

Our invention relates to improvements in sofas, lounges, divans, and thelike articles of furniture; an d it consists in the improvedconstruction hereinafter described and claimed.

Reference is had to the accompanying drawings, wherein the same partsare indicated by the same letters throughout the several views.

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a sofa or lounge constructed according toour invention, part of the cover being removed. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a crosssectionof Fig. 1, taken on theline 3 3 in said figure and looking to the right; and Fig. 4 is apartial sectional view taken on the line 4 in Fig. 1.

A represents the side pieces of the frame of the sofa. A represents theend pieces, and A represents the legs thereof.

A are slats secured to the outer sides of the side pieces A.v Theseslats or strips A are cut away at their ends, as shown at a in Fig. 2,leaving a shoulder or projection to upon each end. The side pieces a ofthe end or arm frame A are pivotally secured to the side pieces A bymeans of bolts passing through perforated lugs a which fit in the curvedcut-away portions a at the ends of thestrips A These pivoted side piecesa have each a shoulder a, which is adapted to bear against the shoulderor projection a on the strips A when the end frame A is turned downflat, and the shoulders thus serve toassist in supporting these endframes A the side pieces of which lie flat against the outside of theside pieces Awhen lowered to the horizontal position.

a is a cross-strip between the two pivoted side pieces a and a is acurved end piece.

A represents a sliding block, to which one end of the spring woven-wirebottom A is secured. Stay-bolts a. pass through the end piece A andthrough the block A This block A has recesses a in its ends, into whichfit guide strips or pieces a, secured to the inner sides of the sidepieces A, and upon which the block A may slide.

A is a central longitudinal piece which is mortised into the end piecesA of the sofa and fits into a recess d in the center of the under sideof the sliding blocks.

It will be understood that the two ends of the sofa are to be similar toeach other, and a description of one end will apply equally well to theother.

A is a metal bar or plate which is rigidly mounted upon the center-pieceA by means of staples a or other suitable means, and. is provided ateach end with ratchet-teeth a A metal strip a", secured at one end tothe side of the sliding block A and terminating at its other end in afiat point, is adapted to engage the ratchet-teeth on the bar A and toserve as a spring-brace for the said sliding block to resist thetendency of the said block to lean inw'ard when weight is put upon thewoven-wire bottom A, stretched upon this sliding block. The saidwoven-wire bottom of the sofa may be kept'tightly stretched between thetwo sliding blocks of the sofa by tightening up on the stay-bolts a, asmay be required, when the brace a" will slip over the ratchet-teeth aand become locked against another tooth. The said brace a:will thus holdthe sliding block against turning and yet give sufficient elasticity tothe seat.

A curved ratchet-bar c0 is pivotally connected to the end piece a of thepivoted frame A by means of a staple or eye a and passes through aslotted plate a secured to the end piece A, and is adapted to hold thepivoted end frame in any desired position. A cord a is connected to thelower end of this ratchet-bar and passes through an eye on the end piecea of the said pivoted frame, and is provided with a button (1 forpulling the said cord and releasing the teeth on the ratchetbar from theplate a and allowing the pivoted frame to be lowered. 'In raising thispivoted frame the teeth on the ratchetbar will slide over the plate andit will not be necessary to pull on the cord a.

The woven-wire bottom A of the sofa is covered with a suitable coveringB, which may or may not be padded, and which falls down over the sidesof the frame of the sofa, as at B.

The pivoted end frames A are provided with a covering 0, preferablypadded at O, and secured to the side pieces of the said pivoted frame,as at c. This end cover 0 is provided with a flap or extension 0 whichoverlaps the end of the covering of the seat portion, so that when theends are lowered there'will be no gap between the seat portion and theend portion.

It will be seen that a sofa or lounge constructed after the mannerhereinbefore described will afford no place for harboring mice or othervermin which make nests in and destroy furniture upholstered in theusual way; and it will also be seen that we provide a sofa or loungehaving a bottom possessing the desired degree of elasticity and whichwill not sag down from use.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a sofa, lounge, or similar article of furniture, the combinationwith a frame composed of side and end pieces, legs supporting saidframe, and guide-strips on the inner side at each end of said sidepieces; of a pair of blocks having recesses in their ends, fitting oversaid guide-strips between said side pieces, and adapted to slidethereon; a bottom composed of woven-wire fabric stretched between saidblocks; a central piece mounted longitudinally of said frame, andcarrying a double set of ratchet-teeth upon its upper side; a bracerigidly mounted at one end upon the inner side of each of said blocks,and engaging one set of said ratchet-teeth; and means for pulling saidblocks in opposite directions toward the ends of the sofa, substantiallyas described.

2. In a sofa or like article of furniture, the combination with a framecomposed of side and end pieces, legs supporting said frame, andguide-strips on the inner side at each end of said side pieces; of apair of blocks having recesses in their ends, fitting over saidguide-strips between said side pieces, and adapted to slide thereon; abottom composed of woven-wire fabric stretched between said blocks;braces and ratchet-teeth holding said blocks apart; a pair of end frameshaving side pieces pivoted to the side pieces of the main frame 'neartheir ends; and

means for supporting said pivoted end frames in the desired position,substantially as de scribed.

3. In a sofa or like article of furniture, the combination with a mainframe composed of side and end pieces, legs supporting said frame, andguide-strips on the inner side at each end of said side pieces; of apair of blocks having recesses in their ends, fitting over saidguide-strips between said side pieces, and adapted to slide thereon; abottom composed of woven-wire fabric stretched between said blocks; acentral piece mounted longitudinally in said main frame; a bar providedwith two sets of ratchet-teeth thereon mounted upon said central piece;a pair of pawls one mounted upon the inner side of each of said blocks,and adapted to engage one of saidset of ratchet-teeth, and act as bracesfor said blocks; and stay-bolts passing through each of the end piecesof said frame and each of said blocks, substantially as described.

at. In a sofa or like article of furniture, the

combination with a main frame composed of side and end pieces, legssupporting said frame, and guide-strips on the inner side at each end ofsaid side pieces; of a pair of blocks having recesses at their ends,fitting over said guide strips between said side pieces, and adapted toslide thereon; a bottom composed of woven-wire fabric stretched betweensaid blocks; a central piece mounted longitudinally in said main frame;a bar provided with two sets of ratchet teeth thereon mounted upon saidcentral piece; a pair of pawls, one" mounted upon the inner side of eachof said blocks, and adapted to engage one of said sets of ratchet-teeth,and act as braces for said blocks; stay-bolts passing through each ofthe end pieces of said frame and each of said blocks; a pair of endframes having side pieces pivoted to the side pieces of the .main framenear their ends; and means for supporting said pivoted end frames in thedesired position, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

SAMUEL O. BAUOUM. AARON T. BALL. Witnesses:

FELIX D. ROBERTSON, GEo. W. RICHARDSON.

